Our Hometown
|
|
It is a cold clear windy day in Pultneyville. Whitecaps roll on the lake surface and crash against the shore, sending chilling spray into the air and over the shoreline rocks glazing them with ice. Nearby, inside their warm cozy residence, former Marion residents Dick and Ruth LaBarr are painstakingly remodeling their home. However, Dick is thinking ahead to spring when he will once again be working on his favorite avocation. An electrician by trade, he buys, restores and shows wooden boats, specializing in Lyman boats. He is also knowledgeable of the history of the former Lyman Boats, Inc. The company, which was founded in 1875, by Bernard Lyman, a young German immigrant cabinetmaker in Cleveland, Ohio manufactured lapstrake rowboats, mostly for liveries, fishermen and amusement parks until the 1890s. They branched out into sailing craft at that time and in 1896 began making motorboats. The government took over the factory during World War I to build concrete ships and barges, but records show only one barge was built before the war ended. The company moved to Sandusky, Ohio in 1928, where they survived the Great Depression. Business grew until World War II, when once again the plant went into military production building all types of craft for the Navy including 33-ft.-long plane re-arming boats, 24-ft. plane personnel boats, 17-ft. line handling boats, eight-foot dinghies, M2 assault boats and 36-ft. LCVPs. The 1950s were good to the company, but they closed their doors in 1972 as buyers became enamored with Fiberglas boats. Today, Lyman boats are popular and valuable as collectibles and show boats. According to LaBarr, many of those restored boats are never put on the water.
'He built superb model boats that were exact and true miniatures of real boats and raced them on Lake Riley in Rochester. His boats were never beaten,' LaBarr said. Two kit boats and 30 years later, Dick and Ruth bought their first Lyman boat at Ontario, in 1985, restored it in their 80-ft.-long shop, then on Owls Nest Rd., Marion, and named it Classic One. Ruth was very involved with that first restoration, but because of her job at Xerox, she has bowed out of subsequent projects. At that time, LaBarr befriended restoration experts and craftsmen Glenn and David Young of Newark and Stu Sills of Sodus Point. They attended seminars and visited the old Lyman factory together. David Young jokingly named him 'Lyman LaBarr' because of his fascination with Lyman boats. For the next twenty-plus years, LaBarr bought and restored several of his own boats while also repairing or restoring many boats for customers. One such boat was the Miss Barber, a 13-foot rowing tender, one of Bernard Lyman's first designs. LaBarr exhibited the boat and won top awards with her (ships and boats are always referred to as her). The Lyman Boat Owners Association bought the vessel and now includes her in their traveling exhibits. One favorite project was the Little Danielle, a 14-ft. Penn Yan runabout named for LaBarr's granddaughter. Even though not a Lyman, he restored her with the same loving skill and care as the others and showed her at the Clayton Antique Boat show the year Penn Yan boats were featured. Another project in which Dick takes pride is a 14-ft. Lyman runabout he restored and later sold. The boat, which he did not name, later appeared in the 2006 special about the Erie Canal televised on WXXI. His present ongoing project is building a 16-ft. high-performance runabout for his son, which Billy Sills designed specifically for the project. LaBarr is pictured with his all-time favorite project, is the St. Rose, a 21-foot I/O utility boat formerly used at Camp Good Days. The boat suffered extreme damage and has turned into a 15-year project. 'Ten years to rebuild and five years to work out the bugs,' LaBarr said. He used two other boats for parts during the rebuild where his objective was to change her from an inboard/outboard to straight inboard. During this major rebuild, he reused only the original shell while changing the location of the fuel tanks, redesigning the seating, dashboard and completely relining it with mahogany. The boat is his pride and joy and is only taken out occasionally, washed and then returned to indoor storage. 'I spent so much time and money on this restoration, that she will never sit outdoors as long as I'm alive. It's kind of like antique and classic car buffs,' he commented. Copyright
©
2008 |
      Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information  |
LaBarr buys, restores and shows wooden boats
LaBarr grew up in Rochester near Highland Park, building his first boat at age 14 and sailing it on the lily pond in the park. He believes his talent and skills are inherited from his grandfather.